[Photo: Christer Nyberg]We all know Lego-building is more fun when you don't follow instructions in a box set, so it's even better when someone comes along and creates a replica model of something from scratch--and a large one at that! Some of the geekiest (and even coolest!) replica projects are of course Star Trek ones, and the USS Reliant from the Wrath of Khan movie is an incredible example.

Christer Nyberg (Myko on Flickr) originally set out to construct a larger-scale model of the USS Enterprise, the setting of many Star Trek episodes and movies, but he found it was a bit too complicated to create using Lego bricks. Therefore, he turned his attention to the USS Reliant.

The project took Christer about a year to build and as many as 15,000 lego pieces to complete, but it was well worth his efforts. As you can see, not only is it incredibly detailed but it's also pretty big: While Christer hasn't posted any official measurements, one photo shows that the starship is almost as big as a desktop. One of my favorite parts is the (working) red lights underneath the craft.